HOCKEY - Women top of the league

There was a feeling of a job well done yesterday as Northland women's hockey team left the turf after a 2-1 win over Midlands in the National Hockey League.
The win at the Northland Hockey Stadium maintained their unbeaten record which now sees them on top of the NHL table by a three-point margin.
While there may have been a feeling that they dodged a bullet against an excellent Midlands team, there was also the hope that they might be able to go all the way this season, after winning a game the opposition largely dominated.
Northland striker Charlotte Harrison said the win had been the toughest of the campaign to date - eclipsing even the fantastic 3-1 win over defending champions North Harbour on Saturday.
She, like many of the team, were still pinching themselves, trying to understand how they have become the team to beat in the league. "I knew we could do it but I didn't really expect us to keep coming out and winning like that," she said.
The Kiwi international was everywhere yesterday, including putting in some time doing defensive work, and was later voted the player of the day. "It was tough one for us today. I think we were a bit fatigued still from yesterday's game, because it was very intense, but we came out on top in the end, so it's all good," she said.
Sitting on 12 points, the team are almost certain of making the semifinals of the competition - but will now target qualifying top of the table with three round robin games remaining before finals weekend at Albany in two weeks time.
The team struggled to match the Midland's "Dutch" style of play in the first spell and were a goal down after Gemma Flynn scored in the 15th minute.
Despite struggling to hold on to the ball for much of the spell, they came back to equalise five minutes later, with Auckland import Nicky Dorrington getting a touch on a powerful free hit by Kesley Dunn.
A couple of good saves by Nicky Matthews saw them make it to half-time on level terms and the team sorted out their defense against Midland's tactics during the break.
The winner was a great individual effort by the team's co-captain Laura Douglas 10 minutes into the second spell. Once they sorted out their marking, the defense was able to soak up enormous pressure late in the second spell as Midland's camped in the Northland half looking for an equaliser.
The team's other co-captain, Jan Rowsell, was thrilled at how they had come back in the match.
"Most of the other wins we've had so far, we've been up by three goals at half time but the girls really had to work hard for the three points today," she said.
She said her team is developing a sense of belief in itself.
"This is the first win we've had in the competition where we came from behind, so it was a very good game for us," she said.
The day before at Albany, Northland outclassed a subdued North Harbour side in Albany to lead 3-0 at the break, with Anna Thorpe(2) and Harrison scoring the goals.